Beetles Identification Guide

probably surviving on the remains of insects.
Dermestes signatus LeConte
Diagnosis: The species most closely resembles D. lardarius but differs from it in
that the apical half of the elytra is covered with golden and black setae. In D.
lardarius the apical half of the elytra bears only black setae.
Sexual dimorphism: Males have a tuft of setae on the middle of the third and
fourth visible abdominal sterna (Fig. 261). Females have no such tuft of setae.
Distribution: Exclusively Nearctic. In Canada the species ranges from Ontario
west to British Columbia.
Economic importance: This species is a minor pest in Canada. It has been collected
in cereal warehouses, in a powdered-milk plant, and in a broiler barn, where
adults and larvae were probably feeding on the remains of insects.
Megatoma variegata (Horn)
Diagnosis: This dermestid is different from the species of Reesa, Attagenus, and
Trogoderma in that the antennal cavity of the prothorax is broadly open posteriorly
and the elytral vestiture consists of white, golden brown, and black setae producing
a distinct pattern.
Sexual dimorphism: Males have the last antennal segment 1.4—1.9 times as long
as the 2 preceding segments combined. In females the length of the last segment
is subequal to that of the 2 preceding ones combined.
Distribution: Exclusively North American. In Canada the species is known in
western Alberta and British Columbia.
Economic importance: Neilson and Arrand (1958) reported this species as an
important pest in British Columbia. It has also been recorded a number of times
as a pest in insect collections (Beal 1967). I have seen one specimen collected in
a flour mill in British Columbia.
Reesa vespulae (Milliron)
Diagnosis: The species is distinctive among the dermestids included here by the
coloration of the elytral integument, which is dark brown anteriorly and along
the suture, light brown on the posterior two-thirds, and contrastingly yellowish
between these two zones. No other dermestid dealt with in this guide has such a
color pattern.
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